The Varsity

Industry consultant Marc Ganis, a member of President Trump’s College Sports Council, joins John to break down the bipartisan Senate bill aimed at saving college athletics from itself. The two dig into runaway transfer chaos, the Lakers’ $12.5 billion sale, why the Seahawks fetched over $9 billion, Lachlan Murdoch’s risky bet on NFL media rights, the league’s flag football and international expansion push, and the never-ending saga of the Bears’ stadium search.

Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand returns to the pod to break down the biggest storylines in sports media ahead of the NFL season. He and John weigh Tony Romo’s odds of returning to CBS’s top booth, Mike Tomlin’s early days in NBC’s studio, and whether Aaron Rodgers could follow the long line of star quarterbacks into broadcasting. They also dig into the NFL’s media rights leverage heading toward 2030, Netflix’s uneven push into live sports, and the economics behind Pat McAfee’s ballooning role at ESPN.

Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

Brian Herbst, the executive who negotiated the sport’s media rights deals, joins John to assess a landscape reshaped since he signed them. The two dig into the new Chase playoff format, the surprisingly loyal audience following NASCAR across five networks, Herbst’s beef with Nielsen's methodology, and the sport’s growing bet on original content, including the Days of Thunder sequel.

Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

Longtime Sports Illustrated columnist Jimmy Traina joins the pod to discuss why he left the publication after 20-plus years and what to expect from his move to Underscore Media. Jimmy and John also highlight some of the sports media trends they’re monitoring and how they expect the business to evolve.

Join us at In the Arena on Oct. 1 in NYC. Tickets here: https://puck.events/inthearena/

Mark Ein, a veteran investor with stakes in the Commanders, Orioles, and Leeds United, joins John to trace his path from World Team Tennis owner to NFL minority owner. Ein breaks down why franchise valuations keep shattering records (hint: AI wealth), where he sees real risk in sports' media-rights dependency, and what it'll take to make tennis a bigger deal in America.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who broke last week’s big news about the LA Lakers, joins John to walk through how the $12.5 billion deal came together practically overnight. The two dig into the NBA’s exploding franchise valuations, what kind of owner Iger is likely to be, why LeBron James really left for Philly, and the murky, slow-moving investigation into the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.

John sits down with Guggenheim's Mike Morris to unpack the NFL's media rights maze and outline some worst case scenarios for the Sunday Ticket lawsuit. The pair dig into why the cable bundle still prints money, Netflix's math on Sunday football, and why the NFL's leverage, for all its power, isn't quite as bulletproof as it looks.

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio returns to the pod to preview the upcoming NFL season and the biggest off-field intrigue. He and John dig into the Sunday Ticket legal drama, Tony Romo’s arrest and indefinite CBS Sports suspension, the implications of NFL’s new ownership stake in ESPN, the enduring 18th-game chatter, and much more.

Athletes First executive Gideon Cohen joins John to take the temperature of a broadcasting market undergoing sweeping change alongside the rest of the sports media industry. The duo chew over the slow death of the studio show, Netflix’s new NFL booth, the Tony Romo suspension, and why the future of the business increasingly runs through an iPhone.

Annie Costabile of The Athletic, who covers the WNBA and women’s basketball at large, joins John to discuss the league’s growing pains as it makes the leap from niche product to mainstream juggernaut. Annie explains why, despite record TV ratings, attendance, and sponsorships, the WNBA remains mired in internal conflict—from online harassment to the breakdown in communication between star players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert, whose future in the role is very much in question.